Valve noise after adjustment?

[bleeble]

I just did a valve adjustment. I did it, checked, and re-checked (that's three times). I set them all to .13mm (factory specified .09-.13). Now I have valve noise that wasn't there before. Any idea why?

It's a clicking sound and it's quite obvious. Nothing subtle or quiet about it.

[chuckycheese]

Just right!

If you checked them 3 times and set them at .13mm, you're set. It's not unusual to hear your valves 'clicking'. You didn't say much about the sound. Is it loud? Does it sound scary? These are things only you can answer. I suspect you won't notice it after a few hours of riding....but it sounds like you did things just right.:-D

[Nessism]

Just a small reminder to make sure you have your clearances right; many feeler gauges commonly available in the states use INCH measurement, the Suzuki spec calls for mm. I think you know this already but just want to make double sure.

Good luck.

[Cassius086]

Valve train noise, aka "ticking" is common (and perfectly normal) on the GS and other air cooled/oil cooled engines.

[chuckycheese]

Yep

Valve train noise, aka "ticking" is common (and perfectly normal) on the GS and other air cooled/oil cooled engines.

Yeah, it sounds like Mom's sewing machine (sort of)....music to my ears!:-D

[bleeble]

Ooohhhhh... 8-[

LOL, I thought I messed something up. My gauges have both Metric and Standard measurements but I made sure to use the right one.

It's not loud at idle, but it can be heard clearly over my Vance & Hines. It seems to get louder noticeably (relative to the exhaust and wind noise) around 4500 RPM. It doesn't seem like an "Oh my god, my engine is blowing up!" sound though.

Another thought... I used to need to leave the choke on for a minute or so after a cold start or the bike would quit. Now I pull it out to start and can turn it off almost immediately. Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but my exhaust note sounds a bit deeper and my bike seems to idle smoother too. I even had to back the idle adjustment screw out a bit because it was idling at 1500 instead of its usual 1100. The valve noise get's pretty noticeable if I drop the idle below 1000... dunno if that matters.

[bwringer]

Yes, tight valves make cold starting a royal pain. It's not your imagination -- when valves are adjusted correctly, cold starting and warmup go much faster and the carbs will work like they're supposed to. It will basically run better all around.

Think of it this way: the carbs meter fuel based on the vacuum "signals" from the cylinders. Unadjusted valves, especially tight valve clearances, muddy up these signals. In fact, an engine with poor valve sealing can have good compression, but still run horribly.



[ PET PEEVE RANT: ON ]

At the GS rallies, I want to scream "CHECK YER %$#^@&*!! VALVE CLEARANCES!!!" out the hotel window when I hear this in the morning: crankcrankcrankcrankcrankcrankcrank crankcrankcrankcrankcrank crankcrankcrankcrank crankcrankcrank putt
crank
crankcrankcrank
crank
crankcrankcrank
crankcrankcrank putt putt
crankcrank
puttputt WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (I'll spare you the full effect of warming up at 4,000 rpm and full choke for 10 full minutes. You'll also have to imagine the choking pall of half-burned unleaded that blankets the dewy parking lot.)

There are always a few... :twisted:

Engrave this upon your soul:
"If your GS does not start instantly at any temperature and warm quickly (30 - 60 seconds till it idles without choke), SOMETHING IS WRONG. Fix it."

Thus endeth this rant. Thank you for listening.

[ PET PEEVE RANT: OFF ]

[TheCafeKid]

Valve clatter is common on these bikes, especially if you have JUST loose valves. Which is OK! As they tighten, you'll hear less clatter, and then eventually NONE, and hopefully, you'll check your valves before then

[chef1366]

My head sounds like a couple of jack hammers at idle. Bike is tuned. VERY tuned.

[bleeble]

Well this has certainly been a confidence booster. This is the first "real" work I've done on a car/bike.

I know first-hand how annoying it can get to keep answering the same questions year after year on message boards, so thanks for having patience with another newbie! I find it amusing that I bought a bike to save some money on my long commutes this summer. I think I've already spent any savings I may have had on parts for this thing. The sick part is that the bike ran fine from day one; it's not stuff I needed, but stuff I wanted. Why are all of my interests so expensive?

[Headphase]

If you need any reassurance, I just did the valves on my 750 on Saturday, other than the pain of a totalled top end gasket and cleaning away some serious quantities of ancient gasket sealant silicon type nonsense, and had the exact same thing. After doing them, the bike fired up instantly, ran brilliantly, but sounded really noisy from the top end. Same thing, had to take it off of choke almost instantly.
I worried all Saturday night about the top end noise, so I did the valves again on Sunday, convinced I'd done something horribly wrong, I was panic stricken.
Valves were spot on, put everything back together again, and took the bike for a ride.
It's such a massive improvement on the gs I would not believe it, no matter how many folk told me.

Anyway, moral of the story, my valve clearances were all tight on the intake. Once I'd done them properly, I could hear the top end working as it is supposed to. I'd only ever heard the bike with a tight top end before.

Big thanks go out to BikeCliff and Mister Basic for the 16 valve clearance guide on BikeCliffs site.

\\/


(next thing, you lot will have me taking the carbs apart, now that for me is the stuff of horror movies, all those tiny little bits)

[Headphase]

bah, sorry.
BassCliff, not BikeCliff (I'm getting on, my memory is not all it used to be)

[chef1366]

Well this has certainly been a confidence booster. This is the first "real" work I've done on a car/bike.

I know first-hand how annoying it can get to keep answering the same questions year after year on message boards, so thanks for having patience with another newbie! I find it amusing that I bought a bike to save some money on my long commutes this summer. I think I've already spent any savings I may have had on parts for this thing. The sick part is that the bike ran fine from day one; it's not stuff I needed, but stuff I wanted. Why are all of my interests so expensive?

Tell me about it. Don't let our wifes, girlfriends or better halves get to talking. ;-)

[jknappsax]

This site, though incredible in terms of the people and knowledge, can get you into trouble. I had a perfectly good 1978 GS 750 that had been in my family since brand new, then because of the mods others here have done, I decided to put a dual-disc front end on, then changed my plan to put on a GSXR 1100 front end and wheels, then decided if I was going to put all that work into a bike, I wanted a GS 1000, which it turned out has some problems caused by the POs. I just finished setting valve clearances, leaving them slightly loose. A lot of old timers say it's a good thing to have a little tappet noise; let's you know your valves are set to completely close. And as far as spouses, GFs, and all signifigant others, remind them that you're not out buying a new Hayabusa, Bandit, SV, TL, or whatever. A lot more money than parts, then you'll probably want to customize that too. In other words, you're being RESPONSIBLE!

[Griffin]

The amount of gasoline in the tank may also amplify or muffle the valve clatter. Once my 700 hits reserve, within a few miles there is a noticeable tocking sound that goes away once the tank is filled up. The first time I heard it, I kinda freaked out. It was on the first tankful after I had done the first valve adjustment. I thought I'd messed something up too. I triple checked the clearances and looked for something bent or broken, but found nothing wrong.

Twenty-two years and 60,000 miles later, I know that if I can't hear that sound with less than a gallon of gas left in the tank, I probably need to adjust my valve clearances, they're too quiet.